Abstract: To identify the possible role of very low density lipoprotein receptor (VLDLR) and apolipoprotein E receptor 2 (ApoER2) genes in duck muscles, the developmental changes of VLDLR and ApoER2 mRNA level in breast muscle, leg muscle and cardiac muscle during duck early growth stages were investigated using Real-time fluorescent quantity PCR. The results showed that VLDLR and ApoER2 mRNA expression level was different in different muscle tissues from 1 to 8 week in duck and had tissue-dependent. Three expression patterns of VLDLR mRNA during growth were found: Fluctuating expression as up-down (breast muscle), as down-up-down-up (leg muscle) and as down-up-down (cardiac muscle). For ApoER2 mRNA expression level, in breast muscle, the mRNA expression level was the highest (P<0.01) in 3 week old duck. In leg muscle, the mRNA expression level kept a low level in the first 6 weeks, then had a significant increase in 7 and 8 weeks, which was significantly higher than that of other weeks (P<0.01). During the cardiac tissue development, the mRNA expression level presented as up-down with growing, and had a higher expression level in the first 2 weeks (P<0.01). In the same week VLDLR and ApoER2 mRNA expression level had tissue-dependent in muscles of three different sites in duck. Our results indicated that VLDLR and ApoER2 genes could play an important role in intramuscular fat accumulation with spatial and temporal specificity during duck early growth stages.

Key words: duck; VLDLR; ApoER2; expression pattern